Ilya Smirin

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. Ilya (or Ilia ) Yulievich Smirin ( ; Russian: Илья Юльевич Смирин ; born January 21, 1968, in Vitebsk , Belarus ) is a Soviet - Israeli chess Grandmaster .¹ As of April 2007 , his Elo rating was 2650, making him the 59th-highest rated player in the world. Smirin's peak rating was 2702 in July 2001, making him one of the elite few grandmasters to achieve a 2700+ rating. Smirin's chess career began in the Soviet Union . Smirin earned a diploma from the Belorussian State Institute of Physical Culture, Minsk , certifying him as a Chess Teacher-Trainer. In 1992 he emigrated to Israel , and has since been one of the leading Israeli players at Chess Olympiads and other international events. He is a member of the Ashdod chess club and the Israel national team. Smirin's tournament successes include equal first places at Sverdlovsk 1987, New York 1994, and the 2002 Israeli Championship . He has also won the first league of the USSR Championship (1987, 1989), the Israel Championship (1992, 1994, 1999), and the qualifying tournaments for the 1994 and 1995 PCA World Grand Prix. In 2000 he won the prestigious NY Open and Dos Hermanas 2001. In 2007 he won the Acropolis International at Athens, scoring 7/9 to take first by half a point. In 2008 he tied for first with Evgeny Postny in Maalot-Tarshiha . The chess games of Ilya Smirin²